Josh Smith traded to Rockets for a guy who's never played in the NBA drafted 8 years ago and gave up some cash as well... so uh... why?

I think (hoping) is it a part of a bigger plan and that dumbDoc is preparing for a trade by deadline?

They also signed Ayres for financial reasons:

Quote:

The signing temporarily mitigates the tax savings the Clippers are achieving in the Smith swap. Ayres will cost the Clippers $55,722 in payroll, the same amount Smith would over the 10-day period, plus tax penalties if they’re still above the $84.74MM threshold at season’s end. However, the Clippers, who’ll be at about $95.5MM in team salary following the trade and prior to the Ayres signing, aren’t obligated to re-sign Ayres after the 10 days are up, a luxury that Smith’s contract didn’t afford them.

I really don't know, I rather liked the Rudy Gay trade rumors from a days or so ago, Stephenson and JSmoove trade for Gay would have been good for both sides I thought.

Instead they traded back the guy to the team that helped beat them in the playoffs last year so I really, really hope Doc has something cooking.

I think (hoping) is it a part of a bigger plan and that dumbDoc is preparing for a trade by deadline?

They also signed Ayres for financial reasons:
I really don't know, I rather liked the Rudy Gay trade rumors from a days or so ago, Stephenson and JSmoove trade for Gay would have been good for both sides I thought.

Instead they traded back the guy to the team that helped beat them in the playoffs last year so I really, really hope Doc has something cooking.

That trade is my own personal scenario. There were no reports of who will actually be traded, just that there were some interests but Stephenson and JSmoove not getting playing time seems perfect and I think they'll work out well in Sacramento especially Stephenson since they need defense badly.

And JSmoove has proven to be a good option off the bench if used right, Doc just doesn't know what he is doing with his roster. It took injuries from CP3 and Blake for him to discover Prigioni and Cole could play and speaking of Cole for gods sake, his sudden emergence is probably the biggest factor in trading JSMoove, him having some non-athletic offense works well with CP3. I think there might have been some internal problems with Smith too, he got into a screaming match with an assistant coach back in November iirc.

And I don't know, Stephenson seems like a perfect fit with Rondo and Cousins, all head cases.

There was also guesses that Crawford would have been included but Doc is in love with him and Pierce so sadly I do not see him trading either. But yeah, those three are the only ones I see with value in the team to trade with and they just rid of one of them.

Speaking of Cole Aldrich, I believe you mentioned him in the beginning and yeah dude is pretty good option and Doc is really dumb to not give him minutes from the start, so the CP3 and Blake injuries has become a blessing in disguise. But yeah, dude has skills and moves and can actually shoot free throws so he can sub in for Deandre when the hack is in play.